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    Cybersecurity: Government Regulations Can’t Keep Up

    For the first time since 2005, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has revised the federal cybersecurity standards. Since the last update, flash memory, Wi-Fi, smartphones, microchips, and social media have burst onto the scene. Why has NIST not updated the federal cybersecurity standards much sooner? Because … More

    Top-Down Cybersecurity Regulations: An Outdated Solution

    Cybersecurity is a hot issue, and with the House of Representatives’s approval of the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) this week it is likely to get hotter. As of last night, groups opposing the bill had collected over 100,000 signatures asking the President to make good on … More

    Morning Bell: Keeping Americans Safe Online

    Everything we do is online. If you’ve been the victim of identity theft or an email phishing scam, you know how quickly your personal data can be stolen or threatened. It’s important to know the difference between types of cyber threats and the right approach to fighting them. There are … More

    Internet Hit by Largest Cyber Attack Yet

    This week, the largest cyber attack to date hit the Internet. Spamhaus, an anti-spam company, placed Cyberbunker on their black-list of spam generating companies. Cyberbunker quickly retaliated with a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, which essentially overwhelms a system with requests. The initial attack failed to overwhelm Spamhaus and … More

    Cybersecurity Executive Order Is a Mistake Every Way You Look at It

    President Obama plans to issue his cybersecurity executive order on Wednesday, following his State of the Union address, according to The Hill. Based on drafts circulating several months ago, the executive order is likely to be highly flawed in its efforts to impose regulations on the dynamic cyber realm. In … More

    Businesses Agree: Regulation Is the Wrong Approach to Cybersecurity

    A new report by the Business Roundtable (BRT) affirms what Heritage analysts and other experts have been saying for years: Cybersecurity is best enhanced by information sharing, not more regulation. Indeed, it was because of disagreements over a regulatory approach that cybersecurity efforts failed in the last Congress. The new … More

    Cybersecurity Act of 2012 Defeated, but a Similarly Flawed Executive Order Is Around the Corner

    Last night, the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (CSA) failed to pass the U.S. Senate. The vote is already being portrayed as Republican obstructionism, even though five Democrats voted against the bill and four Republicans voted for it. Such rhetoric is being used to justify a cybersecurity executive order that mimics … More

    Morning Bell: Do You Trust the Government with Your Computer?

    Do you trust the federal government to keep your personal data safe? What about your business’s records and trade secrets? If you answered “no,” you have good reason—the federal government has had 13 breaches and failures of its own cybersecurity just in the last six months. Yet the President and … More

    Cybersecurity Act of 2012 Is Back, but Same Problems and Questions Remain

    Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D–NV) has vowed to bring the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (CSA) up for a vote in the lame-duck session, and it looks as though the vote could take place this week. The CSA uses a standards and regulatory approach to cybersecurity, but many troubling questions … More

    Wanted: New Spy Chief

    Today, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency resigned. There are few positions in government more vital than the head of the agency with primary responsibility to provide the strategic intelligence Presidents use to inform their most pressing decisions on foreign policy and national security. Further, the agency conducts sensitive … More